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Love Is A Stranger
The past never stays buried for long, especially in a zombie apocalypse. Cast * Sam Yao * Janine De Luca * Tom De Luca Plot Routine Is Comforting Janine is unsettled to be leaving Abel. You’re heading out with her to check out a tip about parts that could potentially repair the machine at the Tavington clinic. In A World... Sam pries into Janine’s Covert Ops past, but she remains tight lipped, despite his jovial teasing. Grass As Janine begins to enjoy the fresh air out in the field, Sam tells you about a creepy zom that New Canton found with the word “grass” carved into its face. I Thought You Were Dead Sam sees a zombified Travis with the word ‘Failure’ carved into his forehead. You hear Janine ask an assailant to put a knife down before her line goes dead. Mildred Van de Graf Janine’s captor has taken control of her headset and orders you to stay away. Sam deduces that Janine must be where Archie found her chickens. Without Her The kidnapper has tied up Janine near a pen of zombies and is wielding a knife. If you attack directly, he may kill Janine, so it’s up to you to cause a distraction. Pull The Pin Sam watches in horror as the kidnapper starts carving something into Janine’s arm. You pull the pin on a grenade and retreat to a safe distance. A Long Walk Janine’s kidnapper reveals she abandoned him in an Algerian jail in a previous life. After the apocalypse, he was soon thin enough to squeeze through the bars. Absent Kidnapper You free Janine but the previously-penned zombies are on you and the kidnapped has fled the scene. You should probably do the same. My Brother Janine explains that her kidnapper is not dangerous to anyone except her unless he is threatened, before finally admitting that he is her brother. Transcript SAM YAO: Raise the gates! siren, gate raises Covering fire! gunshots JANINE DE LUCA: You know, Mister Yao, I’ve been meaning to tell you for quite some time it’s not covering fire. SAM YAO: What? They do fire. And it sort of does cover you, in that it protects you, because of killing the zombies who are near the gates? JANINE DE LUCA: Yes, but it would only be covering fire if the zombies were able to be frightened by it, otherwise it’s just fire. SAM YAO: Why are you choosing to bring this up on your first mission out of Abel in months, Janine? JANINE DE LUCA: Being required to leave Abel on a mission has unsettled me, Mister Yao. Precision and order are settling. SAM YAO: It’s going to be fine. JANINE DE LUCA: I know that, Mister Yao. SAM YAO: And it’s important. If Maxine and Paula can really build something to replicated what the Tavington machine did - JANINE DE LUCA: I know that also, Mister Yao. SAM YAO: And I put out a call on Rofflenet for spare parts, and we got a tip that someone had found a hobbyist’s basement full of electronics, and you need to go there and see if any of it would work to repair the Tavington machine. I just find the runners appreciate it if I do a mission briefing, even if they already know most of it. It’s just, you know - JANINE DE LUCA: Routine is comforting? SAM YAO: In which case, you might like to know you’ve picked up a couple of zoms. Run! SAM YAO: Hey, whatever else we find in this electronics trove, I’m hearing there’s a crate of battery-powered lanterns. Oh, wouldn’t it be lovely to read at night without worrying about the place burning down? JANINE DE LUCA: If we’re lucky, we’ll find capacitors, analog and digital IC chips, switches, resistors, a voltmeter! Ooh, and I’d love to have a good oscilloscope. If we had one, we could design our own circuits! SAM YAO: Yeah, that was always a childhood dream of mine, too. Janine, you were in covert ops before the zombie outbreak, right? JANINE DE LUCA: I think you’re aware that’s classified, Mister Yao. SAM YAO: Yeah, yeah. But you knew that Ministry guy, Travis, and you and Sara Smith had some kind of plan together. JANINE DE LUCA: Which is also classified. SAM YAO: And you were sitting on a secret lab under your farmhouse. JANINE DE LUCA: Mister Yao, do I need to come back there and teach you the meaning of the word “classified”? SAM YAO: No, no! Okay, but – laughs Right, suppose you were in covert ops – what would your cover have been? I mean, did you tell people you worked at an electronics store? Because that’d make sense. Or um, or did you say – hmm, now let me see. Uh, that you were one of those people who go to children’s birthday parties dressed like a giant cartoon character? Or uh, or that you’re a hand model? Or a chocolate taste tester? JANINE DE LUCA: I thought we all agreed no more chocolate talk. SAM YAO: Oh, did you say you were a hypnotist who got people to stop smoking? Or that you sculpted blocks of ice with a chainsaw? laughs Did you tell people you were a romance novelist, Janine? Because that does seem a lot like you. Or did you write – or did you write – did you say you were the person who does the voice-overs for movie previews? JANINE DE LUCA: Mister Yao, please be serious. Runner Five and I have a job to do. movie preview voice-over tone “In a world overrun by zombies, one woman is the only chance humanity has.” voice Come on, Five. Let’s pick up the pace. Moonchild’s mind-controlled people could be after the electronics cache too. JANINE DE LUCA: I’d forgotten how nice it is to get out of Abel. Stretch the legs, see a bit of scenery. I should go out on missions more often. SAM YAO: Mm, that would be fun, wouldn’t it, Runner Five? Janine helping out, having opinions, making sure we always follow the rules. So, in the old days, Janine, did you claim you were the captain of a sports team? Or the dictator of a smallish country? JANINE DE LUCA: It’s just lovely out here. Just look how green everything is! Doctor Myers and Cohen must be enjoying their furlough with this weather. SAM YAO: Yeah, though with all that staring into each others’ eyes, I don’t think they’d notice if it was raining actual fire. JANINE DE LUCA: It is good to have someone remind you that duty is not all there is. Still, it’s enjoyable being here. Fresh air, fresh faces. SAM YAO: Yeah, if you don’t mind most of them belonging to zombies. Actually, speaking of zombie faces, you two are right in the area where New Canton found a zombie last week. JANINE DE LUCA: Well, that’s certainly qualifies as news, Mister Yao. SAM YAO: I wasn’t quite finished with my story, actually, Janine. It had the word “grass” carved on its face. It’s really weird! Someone must have been pretty insane to do that. JANINE DE LUCA: Did you say it was carved? SAM YAO: Yeah, on its forehead. JANINE DE LUCA: Everyone’s gone a bit mad these days, I suppose. SAM YAO: Okay, guys, you’re getting close. You’re also picking up quite a tail of zoms. Think this fresh weather has brought them out. Janine, you’ll be going into that great big white house on the left. The electronics store is in the basement. Runner Five, keep running on the main road to keep the zoms away from Janine. Just hit your noisemaker, Five, and go. beeps SAM YAO: Okay, Five, that’s great. You’ve got a good tail, just keep running. Janine, you find anything good? JANINE DE LUCA: I’m afraid it’s rather disappointing as to rebuilding the machine, Mister Yao. I suppose it was a little too much to hope that we’d find proprietary Comansys technology in this stash. Though in other ways, the collection is rather impressive! SAM YAO: You found the battery lanterns? JANINE DE LUCA: Yes, indeed. The place is packed, and not just with electronics. There are also weapons, even a few grenades. SAM YAO: Grenades? Well, that’s great! laughs You know, Janine, I really never thought I’d become the kind of person who got excited about grenades. It’s weird, right? I mean, you never know who you’ll turn into until you’re actually put in that situation. Never know who you could be. I mean, look at me. I’m not a failing engineering student, worried he’ll crush his parents’ hopes and dreams forever anymore. Instead, I’m a radio operator, which is actually what I really wanted to be. And Janine, you don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. I mean, yeah, the shambling hordes of undead aren’t great, and the loss of everyone we loved isn’t brilliant, but on the other hand, we can just get rid of our pasts, start again. JANINE DE LUCA: Hmm. That’s a nice idea. SAM YAO: Hey, hang on, what was that? JANINE DE LUCA: What was what? SAM YAO: The horde chasing Runner Five just ran close to a cam, and it looked like one of the zombies had a word carved on its forehead. JANINE DE LUCA: Must be the same one New Canton found. Actually, if you could bring it in, Runner Five, I could - SAM YAO: No, no, they said they took that one out, and this one looked like – um, okay. Runner Five, can you just circle past that CCTV camera post? If you could come in at more of an angle, I should be able to get a longer look. JANINE DE LUCA: What is it that you think you saw, Mister Yao? SAM YAO: I don’t want to say until I’m sure. Oh my God. It is him. It’s Travis, the Ministry marshal, the one who came to arrest Jody. JANINE DE LUCA: Travis. Are you certain? SAM YAO: Well, it used to be Travis, until he turned. Now he’s missing one of his arms and most of his lower jaw. And he’s got the word “failure” carved into his forehead. JANINE DE LUCA: Oh. I don’t want to alarm you both, but Runner Five, we need to contact New Canton and leave right now. If that zombie is Travis, then – shatters Oh God. No! Put that knife down. Put it down! … I thought you were dead! static SAM YAO: Janine! Janine, are you alright? Please answer me, Janine, please let me know you’re okay. Janine? Five, you’ve got to get back to that farmhouse, now! static TOM DE LUCA: Hello. I know who you are. You’re Janine’s people. I’ve got Janine. I’ve got her headset, and I’ve got a message for you: this isn’t you anymore. Not your fight, not your battle, not your war! Who owns the war? Who owns the broken bodies of the soldiers? Not her, not any of them. Not the grasses or the traitors or the snitches or the thieves. Not Janine! Let fate take its course. Nothing could have stopped this. If you leave me be, no one will get hurt. laughs Except Janine, and she’s got it coming! SAM YAO: Got it coming? I’ve known Janine for ages. She is clever, and loyal. And alright, she’s sometimes a bit formal, but she works as hard as she can every day to save lives! TOM DE LUCA: Then you don’t know her very well! Janine! Tell them to stay away, tell them! Tell them to go and run far away and not send anyone. You wouldn’t want more blood on your conscience, would you, dear? JANINE DE LUCA: Mister Yao, Runner Five, this man is very dangerous, I cannot emphasize that enough. Do not come after me. This man – I don’t know what he’ll do. SAM YAO: Janine… JANINE DE LUCA: I repeat, do not attempt to follow me. My last request is that you tell Mildred Van der Graaf that I am thinking of her right now. SAM YAO: I uh, yeah. Of course, Janine. Don’t worry about it. static sighs Mildred Van der Graaf… Remember, Five? Archie called one of those chickens you guys found Mildred Van der Graaf, and then she couldn’t stop going on about it. That kidnapper must be taking her near where you found those chickens. Hurry, Five! Get some of those weapons from the basement and go after them! SAM YAO: Okay, Runner Five, uh, I’ve managed to pick up that guy on cameras. He’s in a Jeep. Janine’s right, they’ve stopped by that place we found the chickens. I’m sending out every extra runner we’ve got to help, but you’re the closest. You’ve got to get there, now. And with luck, there won’t be too many zombies in between you and them. Now, he might be dangerous, but we’re dangerous, too, right? What do you think Janine did to this guy that made him hate her so much? Do you think he might have been married to her? DE LUCA screams Oh God, did you hear that? He’s doing something to her! Okay, plan, plan, plan… um, I’ve only got long-range cams on them, but he’s got her out of the Jeep and he’s tied her up. Uh, I think he’s waving a knife around, which doesn’t seem like great news when you consider what happened to Travis. I think there’s a pen full of zombies. Ugh, no one ever seems to pen up zombies for good reasons, do they, Five? Okay, okay, if you attack him directly, he might just kill Janine. Oh God! I don’t – I mean, I know we’re always bickering, but she’s – I don’t know how this place’d go on without her! Um, right, you need to cause a distraction. Go for the Jeep. Keep moving! SAM YAO: Okay, that’s it, Five. Just crouch down behind that Jeep. DE LUCA screams Oh God! It really looks like he’s planning to carve her up like a Christmas turkey! He’s taking his time over it. Looks like he’s really enjoying himself, getting that knife stuck into her arm. This is horrible! Uh, okay, Five. Get yourself in position, and yeah, pull the pin on the grenade. Now, get out of there! explosion SAM YAO: Aw man, that was great! Did you see, Five? He looked around, and Janine kicked the knife out of his hand. He’s chasing you now, though. He’s quite fast. TOM DE LUCA: Stay away, just go! Leave us! Forget about her. Don’t you understand, don’t you get it? That’s exactly what she’d do if your positions were reversed. Do you even know who you’re trying to help, here? You’ve got no clue, no clue! She’s a good liar! Oh yes, she keeps her secrets very well. You don’t know who she is. You don’t know what she’s done! SAM YAO: Now, that’s not true! Me and Runner Five do know Janine, and she’s saved our lives more times than I can count. TOM DE LUCA: She and the rest all abandoned me. Left me all alone. Poor Tom’s a-cold. They knew where I was, and they didn’t come get me. They left me to rot in a jail in Algeria. They denied all knowledge of me. They left me there to die! They were so clever, those jailers. They said they’d teach me a lesson. Well, now I’m going to teach Janine the same lesson! SAM YAO: Why is he unbuttoning his shirt? Oh my God, he’s nothing but scars! Are those words carved on his chest? TOM DE LUCA: Every few days, a new word written on my skin with a knife! Thought that’d kill me, too! But I didn’t die, did I? No. Tom never died. They died instead, when the plague came for them, and I was safe, in that iron-barred cell. They reached for me with hungry hands, but I waited. They got bored. They shambled away in search of easier meat. I drank the foul water that dripped through the ceiling. And I got thin. So thin, so skin and bones – look at me! One day, I was thin enough to squeeze through those bars. And then, I began to walk! It’s been a long walk. SAM YAO: Oh God, oh God. Five, this is – those zombies are breaking out of their pen, and Janine’s still tied to that tree. You have to get back there and untie her! growl JANINE DE LUCA: My arms! He’s tied my arms to the tree! SAM YAO: They’ve smashed the gate of their pen. The zombies are coming, you have to get her free. Five cuts rope JANINE DE LUCA: Ah, that’s it. SAM YAO: Runner Five, the zombies are on you. That kidnapper’s nowhere to be seen. You and Janine have to run! SAM YAO: Okay, you’re okay. You’re losing them. We seem to have lost that bloke, though. Think he escaped on foot while you were getting away from the zoms. JANINE DE LUCA: He’s highly trained in wilderness survival and concealment. SAM YAO: Are you alright? That wound on your arm - JANINE DE LUCA: It’ll be fine. He only got as far as the letter “J”. SAM YAO: For Janine? JANINE DE LUCA: That would be for “Judas”. SAM YAO: Right. Okay, I’m going to have to ask – Janine, who was that? JANINE DE LUCA: Classified. SAM YAO: Oh, seriously? There’s been an apocalypse in between then and now, Janine. JANINE DE LUCA: Doesn’t signify. It’s classified. SAM YAO: Okay. But I want to send New Canton out looking for him. JANINE DE LUCA: No! Listen, Mister Yao, don’t do that, please. He’s an operative in the field who had some terrible experiences. He’s not a danger, not anymore. SAM YAO: He was pretty dangerous to Travis, and to you. JANINE DE LUCA: Travis, Samuelson, and I were the last of the team. He deliberately planted a bait he knew I might take. He didn’t try to hurt Runner Five. He won’t be dangerous to anyone else, I promise, just don’t tell them to follow him. He’ll only hurt them if threatened. SAM YAO: But he tried to kill you! JANINE DE LUCA: Sam, please. Don’t go after him. My cover identities changed over time. There were so many, I can’t even remember them anymore. Estate agent, arms dealer, cotton trader… The only constant was the members of the team, the people I could rely on. The Major - I knew her before. That’s why she came here. Knew I’d have a safe place to hide and a few others, all dead now. Except for Tom. I thought he was dead, but he’s not. Tom is – he’s my brother. Codex Artefact Ministry of Recovery Note 41 Ministry of Recovery Bulletin 41 The Ministry has been concerned for several months about reports that bands of feral children have been living in the London Underground since the outbreak. Concerned for their safety and wellbeing, we recently sent a heavily armed rescue team into the tunnels, but we are delighted to report that no such children were discovered. We presume that the rumours were simply false informatin spread by frightened and confused witnesses, and are delighted to announce that Leicester Spuare station in particular has now been designated a Deep Safe Zone in the event of zombie outbreak in the centre of London. Category:Mission Category:Season Three